The US isn’t that Mature

On : April 5, 2019

We never lose an opportunity
to show the data supporting the notion that mobile usage growth hasn’t slowed
even a little. It’s still charging
ahead, especially in the US. Now that’s
counter-intuitive because one might think that the emerging markets are adapting
at higher rates and that the US, a more mature mobile market, would be
slowing. But 170% increase in ad
requests tells a different story – the US isn’t that mature. Source:
MarTechAdvisor.com

Retail Ad Spending Grew 40% in the Second Half of 2018

On : April 4, 2019

A breakout from Smaato of ad
spending by category for the second half of 2018 shows that 72% of all spending
came from two categories: retail and media.
All other categories combined to deliver the final 28% of dollars.

The big story was the 40%
growth in retail spending in the second half of the year compared to the frist
half. Total retail went from 35% to 49% fueled by online marketplaces Amazon and
Walmart, which together accounted for 28% of all ad spending. A lot of that
second half spending in retail was likely related to the holidays. Source: MarketingLand

High-Tier Consumers Pull Back in China

On : April 4, 2019

Chinese consumers appear to
be pulling back according to a new survey sponsored by Credit Suisse and
conducted by Nielsen. Expectations were
14.3% lower in the 2018 survey as compared to 2017. Tony Wang, one of the authors commented, “…
Chinese consumers [are] less willing to spend across all categories, especially
on large-ticket items such as cars and property.”

Interestingly, consumer
sentiment in China’s lower-tier cities remains strong. Even luxury products continue to see high
purchase intentions. These are the cities
that have only recently begun to feel the advantages of China’s new economy –
in part a result of the Alibaba and JD.com expansion into the hinterland over
the last couple years. Source: South
China Morning Post

Compliant Inventory Wins in Europe; Coming a State Near You

On : April 3, 2019

Analysis of ad requests,
bids, and impressions from the GDPR months of 2018 (July thru December) by
Smaato tells the story about tough verification rules. Advertisers have bought into the scheme. They have shifted their ad spending to GDPR
compliant inventory and they are paying more for the privilege.

We can expect the same
response in the US as states such as California establish their own
requirements. Expect ad dollars to move with
force toward the clean inventory. Know
it, prepare for it, embrace it. Source:
MarTechAdvisor.com

Smart Subscribers Pass 1.3 Billion in China

On : April 2, 2019

February saw a 38% drop in the number of new mobilesubscriptions compared to January. One explanation might be the widely reported drop in China’s iPhone sales, though it was also reported that local brands have taken up much of the slack. Apple may not have merely lost a month, it could be a long term loss of market position. Meanwhile, the number of smart subscriptions moved passed the 1.3 billion mark, emphatically emphasizing China’s status as the largest mobile market in the world. Sources: China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom

Three Rules for Social Media Content

On : April 1, 2019

Blasting social media content
without regard for how its being delivered and where its going is not a
marketing approach. Here are three guard
rails designed to keep your social media marketing on track.

Assume that all social media posts are a sales pitch
though the content may not be very aggressive in tone and make sure that your
story supports the interests and concerns of the kind of people who buy your
product(s).

Sixty years ago Marshall McLuhan wrote, “The medium is
the message.” The adage still applies. Understand each social medium for what
is. The long form content that works on
Facebook is not suited to Twitter’s limitations. Instragram demands pictures over copy and You
Tube prefers video over copy. Lesson:
Just as the content has to fit the audience (rule 1), it must fit the delivery
medium. Both have to be in sync.

Finally, your social media content needs to reflect
your business. Keeping it close, keeping
it in-house will assure it’s written from a personal point of view. That will keep it original and most likely
interesting to your customers. Source:
Forbes

Advertising Dollars Still Concentrated in the US and AsiaPacific

On : March 29, 2019

Ad
spending in the US and AsiaPacific lead the world, yet in spite of that they
are expected to to contribute more to this year’s expected ad spending growth. The biggest growth in AsiaPacific comes from
all the highly populated countries outside of China, Japan and South Korea –
India especially. Exxpected growth in Eastern
and Western Europe and Latin America will account for less aggregate growth
than the US. Source: The Drum

In China, 2018 Ad Spending Suggests 2019’s Trend

On : March 28, 2019

China’s
ad spend for 2019 is projected to increase by 7%. For a clue as to where that spending will go
we have data from where it went last year.
2018 saw digital spending increase at the cost of all other mediums.
Like the US, it was newspapers that gave up the most revenue in service to the digital
spending trend.

Global
CEO & chairman of Dentsu Aegis Network, Tim Andree, commented, “Digital
connectedness – driven not only by advances in technology, but the speed of
consumer adoption – has fundamentally changed the shape of our business and
will continue to do so.” Source: The
Drum

In AI: It’s all about the Rule Set

On : March 27, 2019

Tom
Ohanian, global sales executive for IBM Watson Media & Weather. speaking at
the Smart Hollywood Summit reduced the AI challenge to its essence when he
said, “It comes
down to these two questions: Can we produce content in a way that’s acceptable,
and can we break these down to rule sets?”

In
real life it is necessary to switch these questions around because to get
acceptable content out of the machine, one must start with a rule set that can
deliver a simulated human expression – which leads to a realization that we
have come to understand while working with AI content creation. AI can produce content, but just as a pool of
writers needs an editor, a human editor, so does the machine. The more sophisticated the machine, the
closer it can get to natural language – Watson is among the best – but still,
before synthetically created content goes out, a human needs to be the last
reader. Source: Smart Content News;
Bidwin analysis

China’s Service Sector Declines Modestly

On : March 26, 2019

February’s
service sector declined modestly while maintaining a solid underpinning for the
Chinese economy. It sits just below the
13-.month average of 52.9. Though the
manufacturing sector has shown weakness the service sector remains comfortably on
the positive side of this scale. Projected GDP reflects this modest downturn. Source: China Caixin